I really like this CD, I think it's one of my favorites that I have heard so far. What does everyone else think about this album? I love how he has the female back up singer(s) it really adds a lot to the music. ANd most of all it reminds me of being back in the 4th grade and hearing D&P on the radio

One of his best albums from the 90's.

Quite underrated here IMO.

Okay, i could do with some of the Tony M. raps, but apart from that its a solid, enjoyable CD.
Maybe some more 'traditional' songwriting then which we were used to from Prince in the eighties, but it also shows hey can write and produce classic songs in that format, like: Cream, Diamonds and Pearls, Money doesn't matter tonight... Great singles.

Willing and able and Walk dont walk are very enjoyable, catchy songs also.

Get Off is one of his best funk-tracks from the nineties.

And i dig the the 'Manchester sound' of Live 4 Love.
[Edited 9/27/08 8:50am]

Oh, and next to that:

I love how Michael Blands drums sound on this album. I don't know what kind of 'effect' Prince used on it in the mixingroom, but they sure sound impressive.

One of my favorites as well...

Alot of fans tend to not dig it much, but I just love the energy and the full sound of the album. It would be better without Tony M.'s input, but I can get past that

Riverpoet31 said:

Diamonds and Pearls is a classic song, timeless. It's so well written, the instrumentation is wonderful and the harmonies are so good. It's one of those songs that you never get sick of

I somewhat agree with your view on Diamonds and Pearls.

He succeeds with this song, while earlier he failed on The arms of Orion.

I mean, both songs appear to be an attempt to write some kind of 'big' Barbara Streisand like / movie-like song.
But while the arrangement of Arms of Orion is way too 'synthetic' and the vocals too sappy, Diamonds and Pearls has a much more vivid, band-like arrangement, he even dares to throw a Queen-like bridge into the song, and somehow it 'works'.

Next to that: i think the song benefits a lot from Rosie Gaines impressive background vocals, they ad a lot of power to the song.
[Edited 9/27/08 8:55am]

I think that it is a middle of the road Prince album. It was the second one I ever owned, basically because I became a fan in late 92, so it was readily available.
The commercial stuff was pretty good, but some of the other stuff was suspect. Plus, he lost an opportunity with Gett Off and Live 4 Love. With Gett Off, he could have put the long version on the album. The long version is so amazing, and I only have it on a cassette tape that someone made for me 10 years ago. The Album has the shortened version, which is still good but not as good. On "The Work," there is a version of Live 4 Love that is a bit softer and much more pleasant to the ears.
My overall grade on Diamonds and Pearls is a c+.

My general view with Diamond and Pearls is that he was trying to create an album that would bring him 'back to the mainstream crowd', without being too overly commercial and calculated.

In that sense it reminds me of his second album, Prince. He has said himself during interviews that he wanted to make a 'hit record' with that, because he did spend way too much money on producing his debut-album.

Both albums are a bit more traditional and conservative sounding then most other Prince albums, but thats fine with me: they 'work' on that level.

Next to that: On Diamonds and Pearls i can still hear a lot more 'little experiments' and creative idea's then on his last 3 'mainstream' albums (Musicology, 3121. Planet Earth). To name a few:
- The 'voice bass' on Walk, dont walk
- The Queen-influence on Thunder, Diamonds and Pearls and Live for Live
- The touch of south-african jive on Willing and able
- The manic, clare fisher-like strings on Push
- The impressive synth-bass on Get Off.

Things like this make Diamonds and Pearls for me his best 90's album, maybe on a tie with The Gold Experience.

Great album-especially Willing and Able and Insatiable.

Did someone say D&P?

Riverpoet31 said:

"Diamonds and Pearls" and "The Arms of Orion" are two completely different songs from two completely different albums.

The first is the title track of, IMHO, a pretty lackluster album that featured (supposedly) a new band. While I really loved the addition of Rosie Gaines and Michael Bland (it gave Prince a bigger sound) Tommy Barbarella seemed to be all hair and Tony M. ... well, I really could have done without.

The latter is a duet with Sheena Easton and the other love song from the Batman soundtrack, which was more of a solo production. In fact, the lead video for Batman featured shots of Prince by himself in a recording studio, among other things ...

I liked D & P much better overall than the symbol album.

[wrote this a months ago]

With the album, I gotta say that it hasn't amazed me quite this much. In a sense, it is the ultimate feel-good album. The music isn't overly shocking and powerful, though it does have its moments, something you can chill with after a hard day.

I'd been in the oddest sort of mood lately and somehow, I was craving this album. "Insatiable" had come to mind a couple of times and the other day, I even played it before I started listening to Emancipation again.
That ballad probably holds the record as the one that took me the longest time to enjoy to the fullest.
The album is great because its something you can sing along with while enjoying the beauty of the music. Maybe that's the reason for the title: all of the songs on the album are gems on their own, but together, they present a beautiful package to fully showcase his abilities as a musician.

I've taken less into account regarding his back-up band. I usually would listen to this album and think of it as a group project rather than Prince by himself. In a lot of the cases, it IS him by himself. He performed Thunder, Insatiable and Strollin', and a couple of others on his own. "Daddy Pop" he did on his own and added the band's input later on.
In a lot of the cases, though, he had the band pick up the slack for the other instruments such as drums and bass. Tommy Barberella's input only seems apparent in "Live 4 Love" because he's playing that particular keyboard in his own style that's unique among others.
"Live 4 Love" has got to have some of the most amazing drumming I've ever heard.

"Thunder" continues to impress me, but the best part is when the instruments are taking on lives of their own so it sounds like a duel between the guitar and the angelic-keyboards.

I checked into "Willing & Able" to see if the guest vocalists were the same as those in "The Sacrifice of Victor" on the album. I was right. The Steeles, but one of them didn't make an appearance on the latter track. Their input definitely gave the chorus a huge drive and brought forth such enthusiasm and joy. They don't work wonders quite the same for this song, "Willing & Able." I've never been particular impressed by it because other tracks just shine brighter.

"Diamonds & Pearls" itself is beauty in more ways than one. Prince's vocals in his lower range sound so amazing and could make any girl melt on sight. His duet with Rosie Gaines really works. I doubt any of his other female back-up vocalists could do that good.

One thing that does make some of the songs work is the rhythm the lyrics are sung in. "Push" works that way because the lyrics are sung in a way that just fits the music.

The album's overall feel is commerical, sure, but when I'm in the mood for it, it rarely disappoints. I have to say, what's not to like?
And I'm coming up on a year since I first bought it. It didn't impress me much at first, but now, some of what I'd said, I can take back.

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

Where do you find the long version of Get Off, that is one of my fav Prince songs ??